|
A New Nation |
Nova Scotia Balks |
The Northwest
Territories |
Manitoba & Riel | Federal
Provincial Relations | British
Columbia | Prince Edward Island
| The Washington Treaty |
Scandal |
Liberal Interlude |
The National Policy |
The Railroad |
Immigration |
Rebellion |
Transition
The Northwest Territories or Rupert's
Land had been granted to The Hudson Bay Company on May
1670 by Charter from King Charles II. The departure of
MacDougall and Cartier for London in October of 1868 was
intended to negotiate as good a deal as could be got
from the HBC and the Imperial authorities in order to
enable a railway link t the west coast and the potential
entry of British Columbia into Canada.
Terms were agreed to
in March of 1869 and a Deed of Surrender by the HBC was
effected on November 1, 1869 which saw the transfer of
the area to Canada in exchange for £300,000, retention
of 450,000 acres around it's trading posts, another 7
million acres of land and the right to continue it's fur
trade in the area. The terms of the deal delighted John
A Macdonald as Canada absorbed nearly 4,000,000 square
kilometres of land.
The Canadian government had not seriously
considered the 11,500 white and Métis inhabitants the
Fort Garry area or the aboriginal people of the entire
area. While this was an attempt to prevent the lands
from falling in to American hands as their influence was
quickly spreading North from St Paul, an effective way
of travelling to the west would have to be found or
built. |
